I know what a quick update. Quick update my ass…well, I had finals and writer's block. I also was on this other writing site that I liked a lot…
Well, I'm finally updating. I know, it's been awhile, but I hope people'll still read this even though it's late.
Disclaimer of the Damned: I don't own FF8. Yeah. That's it in a nutshell. You got it. Must I spell it out for you? D-O-N-T O-W-N F-I-N-A-L F-A-N-T-A-S-Y E-I-G-H-T. Yeah. I do own a copy, but it doesn't save. Thus, it's useless. Ugh.
"Memory" POV
I open my eyes, quickly shutting them. Damn lights. I grunt lowly, and sit up in bed. It's a nice day in the little village of Catahu.
I know, you probably don't know where Catahu is? Guess what: I don't know either. I don't know anything. Not my name, where I come from, why I was in the accident. Nothing. Zilch. Noda. The big goose egg. All I know is that I was in some accident awhile ago that knocked me into a coma, and I woke up in Catahu, with no memories.
I've spent the last years searching for my identity. But no one seems to know who I am. But why would they? I'm probably some peasant that no one would know. And I don't remember much. The only person I remember is a woman named Selphie. I had a note in my pocket, and I saw the name Selphie among the blood on the note. And no, it's not her blood, it's mine. It was from the fall.
Last year, I gave up my search for my memories. I guess I'll never remember. The Catahu healer said that in the fall, I damaged a lot of memory cells. I'm lucky to have survived.
I stretch, getting out of bed and quickly changing into my day clothes. I have to help Mr. Guika with the fishing. If I'm to live in their house, I have to earn my keep. I took in the mirror, and run a comb through my long, brown hair.
I never knew why I kept my hair like that. It was always falling out its ponytail and into my face, and sometimes it blocked my vision. And it was so hard to take care of. But for some reason, I couldn't cut it. Maybe it had some sentimental value to me. All I know about it is that according to Mrs. Guika, it was at my shoulders when they found me, but after years of no haircuts, it's past my waist. I have hair much longer than any of the girls in the village. But that girl Maya is catching up with me. She's got a few inches to go.
I dash down the stairs, inhaling the scent of sausages and eggs. I guess Mrs. Guika went to the market yesterday while we were out working. "Smells great, Mrs. Guika. When did you get to the market?" I asked the elderly woman as she flipped the links of sausage around the pan, humming to herself softly.
She turned away from the sizzling pan, and smiled at me. "'Noon of yesterday. While you, Jackal, and 'ole Gaston were fishing." She replied, turning back to her cooking. I take my usual seat at the table, next to Gaston, and across from Jackal.
Gaston Guika is in his sixties, but as limber and spry as a man twenty years younger than him. He credits the fish he eats every night. He's balding, and what hair he still has is graying, matching his gray beard.
Jackal Guika is Gaston's grandson. His parents died a few years ago, and ever since he's been working on his grandfather's fishing boat. He's seventeen, a few years younger than me but I can't imagine that I'm much older than him. Mr. Guika's got a bet that I'm approximately twenty-five years old. But who knows if he's right. I don't even know who I am. How could I know old I am?
"So Memory, you remember anything yet?" Jackal asks me as Mrs. Guika serves us, giving me the extra sausage link for good luck.
The entire village of Catahu calls me "Memory". According to their religion, if you call someone by the thing they desperately need, in time, they will get it. For example, if you call a poverty-stricken man "Riches", someday he will become extremely rich. If you call a very egotistical man "Modesty", he will eventually become a humble man. So they believe by calling me "Memory", with a lot of prayers I will get my memories back. I don't believe it, but whatever floats their boat. I'm desperate for my memories. I want to remember who I am. I'm sick of being called Memory. I want them to say my name. But of course, knowing my name might help.
"Nope. Sorry, Jack." I reply to the teenager, who shrugs. He's used to it. I never remember. I notice the extra link, and thank Mrs. Guika.
"Memory, you work so hard for us. I mean, you make Jackal look like a slacker. And it's for good luck. Who knows, you might remember who you are soon." The elderly woman smiles at me, and sits down next to her grandson.
"Yeah. I could remember. But I don't want to get my hopes up, like last time." I know I seem pessimistic about this, but last time she said this, I got really excited, and got disappointed when I didn't remember a thing.
Mrs. Guika looks me in the eye. She knows something I don't. "The winds are changing. The light gusts of yesterday are leaving. New winds, winds of change are reaching our village. I can feel it in my old bones, son. And my joints are telling me it's about you, young Memory."
Granada Guika feels change. She interprets it through winds and her own body. An achy bone will tell her if something is coming up. She's almost like a fortune teller, but she's prone to be inaccurate. But still, she's right most of the time.
I nod my head in acknowledgement, part of me in disbelief. When I think about it, Mrs. Guika has made a prediction about just about everything except me finding my memories. Part of me is excited; I could remember who I was soon. But there was always the part of me that was in doubt. Granada was often wrong. Actually, she wasn't often wrong, but when she was wrong, she was pretty far off. I guess fortune-telling isn't foolproof.
"Memory, don't look so tense. Be happy. Help me and Gramps go fishing. We'll talk over netting the fish. Sound good to you?" Jackal piped up, in his still maturing voice. Strangely, Jackal is still going through puberty, but he's a late bloomer. Scratch that, VERY late bloomer. But he's grown up enough go fishing every day, and he's excellent at it.
"Sounds good with me. I'm going to take a shower and then we'll be off." I call to the Guika family as I get out of my seat, and head to their shower. I turn on the hot water, and quickly strip down to nothing. Once the water is the perfect temperature, not too hot, not to cold, I enter the shower. I undo the elastic, and my hair tumbles down to my rear. I think it grew last night. I grab the shampoo and pour a dollop onto my palm, before working it through my hair. I know, I sound like a chick, but I have long hair. How else is it supposed to look clean?
I rinse the shampoo out my hair, and grab Jackal's razor. He doesn't really need it, so he let's me use his. I inspect my chin for stubble in the mirror, and of course, I've got damn five o'clock shadow again. Ah, the joys of being a man. I plaster my chin in Gaston's shaving cream, and within 5 minutes, my chin's smooth again, with one minor cut. I'm getting good at this. I turn off the water, and grab my towel and dry myself off. I run a comb through my lengthy hair, ridding myself of any tangles I have. I gather it up into a ponytail, and secure it with an elastic. Hair still dripping, I change back into my day clothes, and rush down the stairs.
"Ready." I call to Jackal and Gaston, who are already clad in their gear. I quickly slip on my rubber suspenders and boots, and put on a straw cowboy hat. The straw is poking into my scalp, but it's almost two years old, and I like it. I don't know why though.
Jackal runs up to me, and sniffs my hair. "Dude, you smell like a girl? Did you use Gram's shampoo again?" he asks teasingly, knowing very well that I did. He does this daily. It's actually kind of annoying now that he does it every day.
"What else am I supposed to use? Jackal, my hair goes to my butt. I kind of need something that will make my hair look shiny. I mean, the hair is the girl magnet. It's why Maya's been hitting on my constantly for the last week." I remind him. I stand by what I say, I have a lot hair, and I'm proud of my hair. I like it…a lot. It makes me who I am. Jackal's laughing, so I give him a stare. He immediately shuts up, which is nice. I like knowing that I'm intimating to him. But of course, I'm the one of the tallest people on the island. I guess being six foot one is towering in a village where most men are around five foot eight. Poor Jackal, he's a short one, only five foot four.
Mrs. Guika hands us our lunch pails, and we exit their house, and head to the port. We pass the market, the temple, and of course, Maya's house. She's doing the laundry, but she notices us and faces us, smiling seductively and waving at me. Politely, I smile and wave back, but I wish she would realize I'm not interesting in her. She flips her hair and winks, then turns back to her laundry. Jackal sticks his finger down his throat, and pretends to gag. Did I mention that Jackal annoys me sometimes? This is one of those times. Must be the crush Jackal's developed on Maya.
After what feels like forever, we reach the port. Stepping onto the rickety dock, I spot "The Granada", Gaston's boat that he named after his wife. I learned from him that often a sailor will name his boat after a woman that was important in his life. Jackal wanted to name the boat, which he would have when he got older "The Maya", after the dark haired girl who had been trying to catch my eye lately. Jackal had been crushing on her for as long as I knew, and envied me for getting her attention, but I didn't mind. I must have been a player back before the accident, because it seems so easy for me to get girls, and so natural. I personally wanted to name my boat "The Selphie". It was the only name I remember from my past, so to me, it was special.
We jumped onto "The Granada", and Jackal and I began to ready the nets while Gaston undid the ties that kept the boat tied to the deck, and soon jumped to the captain's chair to start the boat. He turned on the engine, and the boat quickly accelerated. Jackal, whose sea legs weren't exactly grown yet, fell into a net, tangling himself into the fabric. It was a funny sight, and I will admit, I laughed my ass off at him. But Jackal coughed roughly, signaling that no matter how funny this was, we worked together, and I couldn't net fish without him, and I couldn't catch fish without a net, so I helped him untangle himself. By this time, we had reached our ideal spot, and Mr. Guika stopped the ship, more softly than the depart. With the help of Jackal, I threw the net into the water. Almost as quick as we dropped it in the water, we quickly lifted the net out of the water. Dripping water, we dumped the net on the deck of the ship. Quickly, the three of us separated the edible fish from what we couldn't use, and dumped the unusable stuff off the side of the boat, and threw the net off the boat again.
That's basically what we did for the next 4 hours. Netting the fish, separating our catch, and then tossing the net back. The life of a fisherman, while being relaxing and profitable in a fishing village such as Catahu, was dreadfully boring. I can't see myself doing this until I'm Gaston's age. I've been doing this for two years, and every day is exactly the same. Throw the net, find the fish, toss the crap, and do it all again. Over and over again, until the day you die.
Finally, Gaston cocks his head towards our lunch pails, and eagerly, Jackal and I grab our lunches. Today, we have salmon sandwiches and grapes. It's a good lunch, but I'm so hungry looking at all these fish that I'd eat cardboard if Granada packed it for me to eat. But I'd prefer the salmon and grapes. I take a hefty bite of my sandwich as Gaston and Jackal do the same.
"So Memory, I saw Maya giving you some looks. She's a fine young lady, don't you think?" Gaston inquires, taking a slightly smaller bite than me and Jackal, being older and more mature than to stuff food in our mouths like Jackal and I. I guess self-control was must come with age.
"She's a little younger for me, doncha think. You guys say I'm about twenty-five, and Maya's sixteen. I mean, she's younger than Jackal. And she's just…I don't know. Not my type, I guess. She's pretty; I'll admit that she's probably the best looking girl in Catahu, but just not my type. She's just, I don't know, a little full of herself sometimes." I reply, taking an overly large bite of my sandwich, now about half eaten.
"What Memory's trying to say is that he doesn't like Maya because he's hung up on that girl from before he forgot everything. Stephanie, wasn't that her name?" Jackal adds, annoying me further. Often, he'll put what I said in his own words, just to piss me off. Sadly, it works wonders for him. I punch him playfully on the shoulder for that, while wanting nothing more than to correct his crooked nose the painful way.
"Selphie, her name is Selphie." I reply, taking a swig of water from my water jug in my pail. Jackal shrugs, knowing he was close. Remove the t, a, and n from Stephanie and add an l between the e and the p, and you get Selphie. And they sound nearly the same. Not too different.
"So, does that mean that I can have Maya?" Jackal asked me, trying to sound unaffected by the excitement of possibly knowing that his friend would let him have the finest girl in Catahu, but failing miserably. He's terrible in masking his emotions, especially when he's eager about something. I'm pretty much the same way, while Gaston's emotions are hard to read. Another thing that must come with age…part of me wants to be old soon because of all this.
I nod, it'll make him happy, but there's always the catch; how to get Maya off of me. "Sure, you'll just have to get her to stop liking me. Actually, I'd like you to do that, because it's annoying when she's constantly trying to hit on me. Holy Hyne, doesn't anyone realize that if you try that hard, you look like an idiot." I snort at the thought of Maya's daily attempts to attract me to her. It's kind of pathetic how she bats her eyelashes so much it looks like she has something stuck in her eyelids, and smiles is this ways that she thinks is seductive, and makes her look like a total witch. But she's by far prettier than the other girls in Catahu. But I couldn't spend my life with her. Jackal can have her. I don't care.
By this time, our lunches have been finished, and we go back to our cycle of throwing the net, separating the catch, throwing out what we don't need, and throwing the net back. But after lunch, the time goes faster, and the conversation from lunch carries over, and it's more enjoyable. But still, when the conversations lulls, fishing is dreadfully boring. I seriously don't know why I'm still being an apprentice fisherman. I'd probably make a better weapons man, and that would make me more money. But I owe the Guika family for taking care of me during the coma, and their home is cozy and seems like my own home.
The sun is starting to set, and we've separated our last catch. Gaston heads to the captain's seat, and we fold the nets and put them on the deck. We reach the port, where Granada Guika and Maya are waiting for us. I roll my eyes when Maya isn't looking, as she runs up to me and hugs me, but moves away due to the fact that I smell like shit.
"Ew…Memory, you smell like fish." She shivers in disgust, knowing she hugged someone who smelled terrible.
I snorted. Man, was she not so bright upstairs or what. "Well, duh Maya. I've been on a fishing boat since 8."
Maya colors a little, knowing it was obvious that I would smell like fish. I've actually never seen her blush before, so it's kind of weird. I didn't know that people with skin that is as dark like hers would blush. But whatever, she blushes, she's embarrassed, she's human. "Right…" she says quietly, trying to hide the shades of red her face is displaying at the moment.
As we walk back to the Guika household, we are stopped by a man in a uniform. I know it from somewhere. It was blue and yellow, with the words "Balamb SeeD" embroidered on the left breast pocket. He was tall and dark haired, and there was a cigarette in his mouth. His mouth opened and closed, but I didn't hear him. All I could think about was how I knew the uniform from.
Balamb. SeeD. What is Balamb? What is a SeeD? Somehow, I know this. My empty brain stumbles around, trying to find the answers that I've been searching for the last two years and two months. But suddenly, as if the gods granted it to me, I knew. I remembered. After all this time, I finally remembered. Balamb…it was a town. I came from Balamb; I lived in Balamb and studied to be a SeeD at their Garden. And a SeeD…a SeeD is a mercenary soldier. I am a SeeD. My name…my name is Irvine Kinneas. Yes, I am positive my name is Irvine Keith Kinneas. Also known as Balamb and Galbadia Garden's Best Sharpshooter. My best friends are Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, and Selphie Tilmett. And Selphie was also my girlfriend. Oh poor Selphie…I have to go to Balamb. I have to see her. I've made her wait so long. I miss her…I love her…
Maya waves her hand in front my face. "Memory, you have to step away. The man says there was a murder last night, and they are investigating…"
"Don't call me that, Maya. My name is not Memory, my name is Irvine Kinneas, I'm a SeeD, and I need to get to Balamb to see my girlfriend, Selphie Tilmett." I tell her, and Maya's face falls. I guess she have more than just a little crush on me. I don't really care about what Maya thinks; she'll get over it. I have more important things to think about. Like getting back to Selphie.
I face the SeeD. "Sir, I need to borrow your communicator." The SeeD looks at me strangely; I guess it is not commonplace for a random person to claim they are a long lost SeeD and demand to use your communicator.
I doubt he believed me, but he knew that if I really was Irvine Kinneas, I'd be a high ranked SeeD, so he gave me his communicator, just in case I really was who I am. I dialed Cid Kramer's number, and waited as Cid's communicator rang four times before he answered it. "Hello, and welcome to Balamb Garden. This is Headmaster Cid Kramer speaking." He spoke clearly, exactly how I remembered him. I guessed that things didn't change much since I left.
"Hello Cid, this is Irvine Kinneas. I need you to connect me to Selphie Tilmett please."
Oh…a cliffy. Pretty lame cliffy, but still a cliffy. It was a longer chapter than most (3600 words as opposed to the 1300-1600 words of the last two chapter), and I'm pretty proud of this one. It was difficult chapter to write…but I managed to write in one day (and two sittings…a new record. Go me). Well, I hope you liked it. And I want to know who guessed that Memory was Irvine. If it sucked (how he randomly remembered who he was), I'm sorry. I've never written a story about a character who lost their memory. Well, I really hoped it was good.
GiRlwHoGiGgLeS (AKA Gigglygal)
